How much do you spend on your cat every month? (Food/Litter/Treats, etc)

magiksgirl

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
947
Purraise
166
Location
Tijuana, Mexico
Mind that these are in MX Pesos:


A week:$181 pesos / $12 dlls ($48 dlls a month)

Dry food: $95 pesos

Wet food: $56 pesos

Litter: $30 pesos

Toys: I make my own

Seldomly:$1140 pesos / $73.50 dlls

Spay momma: $300 pesos

Spay daughter: $300 pesos

Vaccinate "Tripple-Feline": $180 x 3 = $540 pesos

Anti-flea vaccine: $45x3= $135 pesos

De worming: $30  pesos

One time thing:

Food bowls: $5  pesos

Beds: $200  pesos

Fleece blankies (actually 1 yard of fleece for each): $50 pesos

Other stuff I forgot 
 

roguethecat

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
684
Purraise
197
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
way, way too much. I feed whole prey and am embarrassed to actually calculate, but suffice to say that the larger critter, the more economical it is. Gisou likes medium and large rats. But then, they don't use the litter boxes much as they need every drop to scent the neighborhood. So I deep-clean litterboxes about twice a year, and tend to the single one that's used about three times a week.

Vet bills are emergencies, so they don't count.

Treats are freeze-dried hearts and meat and I have to give them out every night when I go to bed, so maybe let's say, $ 25 per month just treats. 
 

cicoccabim

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
188
Purraise
44
I think it is about 40 dollars, I feed raw and keep the cost of the food very low (0.5 dollars a day), the rest is insurance, litter and some toys. Vet visits (unplanned) not included, and she has had no big illnesses. She is 2 years, indoors with walks in a leash. weighs 5 pounds......
 
Last edited:

happypet6

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 14, 2015
Messages
39
Purraise
7
Location
Mississippi
I just had to reply to this. Not a real answer, just an observation from a cat lover. Started with two, now have 14 inside and more than that outside. We started doing TNR when we moved in yrs ago. There were several ferals and we felt obligated to do something for them. Ended up taking some of them in and doing our best to have the rest spayed or neutered. Recently had a bad bout with health and, while in the hospital, others showed up that we couldn't help. We are retired and it takes a huge amount of our income to properly care for yhem. That said, we love every one of them and would do it all over again. If you just want one or two and give them good food and care, it's not expensive at all. But do realize that cats are highly addictive :). Once you have one, you just seem to want more. Think you will find one or two very affordable. They are wonderful creatures!
 

relienna

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
105
Purraise
46
Location
Ventura, CA
Back when I worked at a Vet clinic that could special order REGULAR cat diets - I paid close to nothing per month, because it got put on my "tab", if you will, and paid it off slowly over the year. It would be a giant $36 bag of Purina One food that would last me almost 2 months for 2 cats. It was way more economical. I also bought the cheap bags of Johnny Cat litter - so that was about $3 per week, adding up to $12 a month. I never bought canned food and I only bought them toys a couple times a year because this is when I was 20, just living on my own, and broke. lol

But, this cat I have now is already costing me way more. And it's mostly my fault. lol

It's roughly $20 a month for his scoopable litter. (This is my preference because scooping every day and changing out once a week/week and a half is SO much easier than changing out the heavy bags Johnny Cat.)

He is still a kitten so his bag of Blue Buffalo might last him a little more than a month - but it's about $20 for that. And he eats 1/4 of a can a day, so I buy 8-10 cans a month which are around at LEAST $1.20 for the Blue Buffalo he likes. So that's around $12-$15.

He destroys mouse toys of all types with ease, so I spoil him and spend maybe $10 a month on more cheap mouse toys.

That puts me at $65 a month, which isn't bad really.

The only stuff you have to take into account is annual Vet visits (usually around $50) and their annual vaccines (usually around $20 each). And, of course, surprise problems you might have to take them in for. Over all cats are pretty inexpensive if you keep it to ONE. 2+ gets more pricey, but totally worth it! 
 

itsybitsy15

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 25, 2015
Messages
206
Purraise
16
I buy 50lb bags of food that run about $25 each and they last me a couple months,

I buy the big 5 gallon buckets of litter that are about 30lbs, and they last me about a month per bucket if not a little more, they run about $13 each,

My cats don't play with toys much but the ones I've bought are all dollar store toys which add up to about $6-$7. I've also bought a cardboard floor scratcher that I replace whenever my fat cat ruins both sides and it was about $6 and a cave for them that was $15-$20.

And I only buy the 16oz container of temptations treats (my kitties ho crazy for them) which was about $8

So it's about $46 every few months and $13 EVERY month. And $30-$40 bucks every now and then when I want to get them something special, which isn't too bad for 2 cats.

You also have to factor in vet bills every couple months, I just had a pretty big emergency with my little girl that ended in a pretty expensive bill. But usually we can go awhile without having to spend more than $100 for vaccinations and stuff.
 

itsybitsy15

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 25, 2015
Messages
206
Purraise
16
Oh! ND every 2 months I buy the 15 packs of the litter box sifting bags. I scoop solids daily and pull one of the liners every few days.
 

maureen brad

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
957
Purraise
363
Location
San Jose, CA
Oh Gosh. I spend about $150 a month on the raw food for two cats .Sometimes a little more , sometimes a little less.I could do it cheaper if I bought a grinder and did my own but, I order the meat and pre-mixed supplements.It still costs less than the premium canned I used to get. I buy canned food and dry food for my little feral that runs about $20 a month. Around $20 a month on litter. I use Revolution on my two cats , I buy a 6 month supply at a time for around $190 thru 1-800-PET-Meds so I guess that comes to about $31 a month. I spend only about $10 a month on treats. I have to admit that I am not sure what I spend per month on toys, some months nothing and on others I splurge. Their favorite toys ( Da Bird, a little mouse on a wire wand toy) need to be replaced every 2 months or so.These two cats are pretty darn healthy so I spend $56 twice a year for each cat in vet office visit fees. Rabies shots once a year at $28 per cat and blood work once a year at $200 per cat.Knock wood they remain healthy ...yep, I spend on the cats. Happy to do it too.
 
Last edited:

new kittenmom

The princess of sniffles
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
90
Purraise
8
Location
The Satellite of Love
Starving student here. So my cat and I are on a budget.

Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Formula: $11.45 a bag (She eats this the most. Grain free. Lasts about a month.)

Taste of the Wild Wet food formulas: $.95 (Also grain free. Feed her this once every other day I buy about 5-6 cans)

Friskies Temptations: $3.99 (Bag of treats lasts me for a couple months)

Tidy cats kitty litter: $6.99 (Good for a month)

A cricket or two: $ .10 (Very sparingly but she loves catching and eating them and I know where they come from)

Tinfoil balls : $ 1.00 or free if roomates bought it. (One of her favorite toys)

$25 a month savings for a vet trip just in case.

Total: about $50 a month or so. Sometimes I wish I could spend way more. I would love to buy a giant cat tree for her one day.
 
Last edited:

raysmyheart

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
2,866
Purraise
8,640
Location
Massachusetts
For Speedy, I figure I am spending this much -

Wet food - $30.00 a month.  This is because I end up opening 2 cans a day of Fancy Feast and she will eat no more than 1/2 can each.  I know, this is wasteful.

Dry food - $10.00 monthly.

Litter - $20.00 monthly.

Toys - $10.00 month (I am always picking her up something from where I work).

Revolution - $22.00 a month.

Vet care per year has been low luckily so about no more than $300.00 year so far for checkups, shots, Etc.

I have been looking into pet insurance and that would be about 30.00 month, but it seems once you pay the deductible, then work with plans limits, sometimes it does not seem to make sense.  I will have to think of it a little further.

Hugs and kisses and cuddles - given freely with lots of love!  So right now, it seems like about $100.00 per month.  
 

laura h

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
332
Purraise
129
Location
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
I don't spend that much. I'm on disability so my budget is very tight.

Litter (A&H dual odor)=$20.00

Food (he eats dry purina one=$20.00

Toys/entertainment=$10.00 

Treats=$1.50

Vet bills vary from month to month. He's being neutered Wednesday + 3 vaccines=around $175.00 for August. But normally I wouldn't spend that much a month
 

Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
29,722
Purraise
27,990
Location
In the kitchen
We  have six indoor cats.

28 cans of food every week * 4 = $ 56.00 (That's at 50 cents a can; sometimes it's more than that. Sometimes we buy more cans to take advantage of coupons.)

3 20-lb bags of Tidy Cat every week * 4 = $ 59.88

5 1-gallon jugs of spring water every week * 4 =  $19.80 (The cats only drink bottled spring water, no well water)

1 18-lb. bag Hills TD Feline every month = $18.99 (For BooBoo and Mollipop mostly)

2 35-lb pails of Tidy Cat Clumping = $29.00

1 3.18-lb. bag Friskies Indoor Delights = $4.00 (For the rest of the clan. I buy it when I can get it on sale at 2/$8. We probably go through a bag a month, sometimes more.)

1 3-pack of Sip = $ 4.17 (It's more of a treat kind of thing, so a 3-pack will last them a month)

This is all pretty much estimated. I tried to go by some of our grocery receipts. Not including taxes. And I use coupons as much as I can. It comes out to about $192.00 a month for the clan, not including vet visits or toys. When I can find Cool Claws during the summer, we will buy some for the clan.

We've taken BooBoo to the vet now five times so far this year, two of those visits were emergency visits, so they were a bit pricey. Ms. Pepe and Amber Louise have had their check-ups. I still have to get Mollipop, Tabby, and Muffin in for their annuals. We take Ms. Pepe in twice a year because she's geriatric, so she's due for her second visit. As I mentioned, Boo seems to be going in fairly regularly this year because of allergy problems and problems with arthritis.

As for toys, they don't get much anymore as their toybox is full. I do buy the little mice (50 at a time from Foster and Smith). They get their catnip parties from time to time; they just love their catnip. And usually at Christmas, we'll get them something that they can all use, whether it be a catnip pillow for each of them or some kind of toy. They get regular Da Birds. We play more with laser lights and such during the winter as it gets dark earlier....Tabby pretty much knows that when the music to M.A.S.H. comes on at 7:00 in the winter, the laser light will soon be out. 
 And I'm totally serious about that.

So we do what we can for them. 
 
Last edited:

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
I buy one bag of dry every 2-3 weeks....$8
Litter is Dr Elseys $15 every 6 weeks.

That averages $25 +-

Add in canned food...about 50¢ a day...comes to about $40. One vet well visit a year comes to about $100. If you break it down, it comes to $50 a month, tops for average cat care . Might not even come to that.
 

new kittenmom

The princess of sniffles
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
90
Purraise
8
Location
The Satellite of Love
 
For Speedy, I figure I am spending this much -

Wet food - $30.00 a month.  This is because I end up opening 2 cans a day of Fancy Feast and she will eat no more than 1/2 can each.  I know, this is wasteful.

Dry food - $10.00 monthly.

Litter - $20.00 monthly.

Toys - $10.00 month (I am always picking her up something from where I work).

Revolution - $22.00 a month.

Vet care per year has been low luckily so about no more than $300.00 year so far for checkups, shots, Etc.

I have been looking into pet insurance and that would be about 30.00 month, but it seems once you pay the deductible, then work with plans limits, sometimes it does not seem to make sense.  I will have to think of it a little further.

Hugs and kisses and cuddles - given freely with lots of love!  So right now, it seems like about $100.00 per month.  
Would Speedy eat leftovers from the can if you refrigerated it? You could buy some lids that fit the cans really cheap. That way, you can open one can, spoon out half, refrigerate it and give her the rest later. Even if she is picky about flavors, you could open up the second can, spoon out half, refrigerate it and give it to her again the next day after her first meal. Maybe even zap it in the microwave for about 8 seconds so that its warm. I don't know the whole story though. Is Speedy really picky?
 

chibster

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 3, 2015
Messages
7
Purraise
3
I don't really spend that much a month, maybe every 2 or 3 months.

BB Healthy Living 7lb - about $20-23 lasts 3-4 months 

BB Healthy Gourmet 48 cans (24 cans/flavor)- $49 (looking into buying a lower cost healthy brand or perhaps homemade), lasts about 2 months and a few days

Feline Pine/Blue Buffalo Litter- $10/$8  2 months or more depending how big the bag is
 

picklespepper

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
220
Purraise
31
It all depends on what you buy, I suppose.  Most people i know just feed their cats the no name brands that can be as low as $3 a bag.  I found one store brand that had meat as a first ingredient for $4 (most that cheap have corn first).

Our budget fluctuates so there may be times I will have to feed the cheap grocery store brands (we have in the past) but right now we're feeding a mid-line grain-free food.  It's about $20 a bag and so far one bag has lasted us about 2 weeks so that's about $40 a week.  I'm thinking of starting to purchase a larger bag because the bulk prices are better.  I also want to start adding wet food.

But anyways

2+ cats

Performatrin Ultra Grain Free Kitten Formula - $20

No Name Brand Scented Litter Clumping -  $10 a week (it gets really stinky after a week even with daily scooping)  That's $40 a month!  Wow!  We really should cut back here.....

So regularly $60 a month.  But man, I should really find a cheaper way to do the litter....

This past month was the kittens' first check up and deworming so it was $95 for the both of them.  The next PLANNED visit is when they're getting spayed and neutered.  The vet also offered to give them their rabies shots then.  So that will probably come close to $500.  

We also had all the start-up costs of adding a second cat to our home.

I still want to get some kitty condos yet.  The pet store wants $60 for a two-story carpeted condo but Walmart has one for $25.  I also bought a $3 toy but it has vanished already.  Our kitties are indoors so I have no clue where they dragged it.  Or maybe the kids lost it.  I don't know.  It's a fishing rod toy so it's not like it's tiny.
 
Last edited:

momto3cats

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Aug 1, 2006
Messages
1,143
Purraise
131
Location
TX
For my 2, it's about $85 a month on average, for food, treats and litter. Most of that is for canned food. When I fed mostly dry food (decent brands but not the most expensive) it was more like $30-40/month.

I don't often buy toys, I spend maybe $10-15 a year on new ones.

Whoops, I forgot to include insurance - that's currently $42/month, and will soon go up to about $49 for both cats.
 
Last edited:
Top